I had a mentor ask me this question about 30 years ago, and I’ve never forgotten it! Of course I wanted to be RIGHT! I had to be RIGHT, my life (so my ego thought) depended on being RIGHT! I was terrified of being wrong, of making a mistake, of being found out. And if such an exposure occurred, I worked tirelessly to explain what had happened or to defend my position – vowing internally that I would never screw up again.
Much of our fear of making a mistake, of being wrong, is an attempt to prevent being harmed by others or by life circumstances. The pressure or stress that we place on ourselves to handle something “right“ is our ego’s attempt to reduce the possibility of exposure, interpreting harm as shame or guilt, our ego convinced us that we were in grave peril.
Ego-deflation is the process of moving away from a life founded on our rational mind, and instead step into the center of our Being and become acquainted with our Self as the source of certainty. It is easier to read and comprehend these words, than it is to put this into practice.
So we begin by giving up being ‘right’ – instead we consider another perspective rather than our own, and entertain the possibility that carrying the burden of ‘having to be right’ or ‘having to know everything’ is really a pain in the ass! Too much work. I’ve come to value my serenity – my answer to the question these days is: I’d rather be serene!